Dead Rising 1: Owl's Tale
by Kuro Erie
Summary: 16 year old, Owl, hated coming home to visit his parents, but after an insulting his older sister and her boyfriend, causing the pair to leave, and his brother heading back to school early, he is caught in a zombie outbreak. After his parents are killed, he gets to the mall, where the teenage Owl decides to start a new life, by eliminating his past, so he can start a new life.
1. Day 1

Stress was building in Owl's nerves as he leaned against one of the walls in the lobby of the local mall. He hated the trips that he had to visit his family. They weren't enjoyable, and normally ended with an argument with his parents. Most of his time was spent at the mall, usually in the food court, happily munching of fries and a burger. This trip had been ruined when the 16 year old had insulted his older sister and her boyfriend, causing the pair to leave town early. His older brother had left to go back to school a week earlier, and left him alone with his parents.

He frowned as he scanned over his father's Berretta 92fs. The weapon had been taken hastily as he rushed out of the house, after several zombies broke down the front entrance and stormed into the house. His mother was killed and his father held them back, yelling for him to rush out of the house. The teen had obeyed and managed to take the pistol and some spare ammo on his way. The teen still had bits of glass on his outfit and hair from the dive out the second floor window.

"You gonna sit there or help out?"

Owl looked up at the man who was glaring down at him. The teen let out a sigh and stood up, heading towards the second floor, ignoring the man yelling at him. The teen had witnessed his parents killed before his eyes, and now he was sitting in the mall entrance, waiting for something to happen. The teen had spent the last day or so moving around the mall, searching for something to do. He had managed to change from his blood stained outfit, into a pair of cargo pants, a dark blue dress shirt, and a pair of large, rectangular glasses covered his face. His hair was starting to grow longer, and barely managed to pass over the top of his left eye, which was pure gold, while his right was a light grey. His parents had always been angry at the birth defects of his, such as his inability to see half of the blues. To them, he was never going to be a great engineer like his older sister, or a great scientist like his older brother. He was just a failure.

"Have you seen my Madonna?"

He looked up at the old woman who was in his face all of a sudden. He blinked twice and shook his head at her, sliding back slightly to lean on the railing. The last words his parents had said to him still rang in his mind. "_No matter what we said in the past. You are a survivor, and we will be proud of you no matter what."_

Owl shifted his weight and looked at the man that walked out of the security room. He had a camera around his neck and to Owl's memory, not someone who had entered the mall with the other survivors. He followed the man with his eyes for a few seconds, then focused on the zombies just on the other side of the glass. The blockade was probably not going to hold that much longer. He could give less of a fuck, considering he had found a solace in Jill's Sandwiches. The shop was a crappy place to stay if he wanted to stay away from the zombies, but it had sentimental value to the teenager. He used to sit around the shop, chatting with his older siblings, before they had drifted apart.

"MADONNA!"

He frowned as the old woman ripped through the barrier, going after her dog. Owl lifted his father's pistol and aimed it at the entrance, focusing on the old woman. He frowned as the zombies started to slip into the building. He opened fire on the zombies, hitting a few of them, but most of his shots missed. He frowned as he moved to reload and a man pushed past him.

"What are you doing? MOVE!"

He scanned over the crowd and took a few potshots at several zombies that were getting a bit too close to several of the survivors, but only one man showed interest in surviving. He rushed to the stairs, smacking zombies out of the way with a bench leg that he had snapped off. Owl frowned and moved towards the security office, reloading the pistol and pulling out a box of ammo and refilling the now empty magazine. He frowned as he entered the office and noticed the lack of others. Three men, and a woman. Not good chances of surviving, seeing as there had been around 10 people in the lobby, who had just died due to one old woman's stupidity.

"Where are the others?"

The man looked at the teenager and frowned.

"I think we're the only ones."

The man let out a sigh and waved for the man with a welder to seal the door. Owl moved further into the security office, scanning over everything that was around the area. He stopped by the lockers of the mall security guards, before moving to the bench at the base of the stairs to the roof, most of whom had been killed trying to keep an eye on everyone. Two had been killed getting people into the mall, another was killed by a zombie in the North Plaza, and the fourth had been murdered by the Colby theater. Owl hated the fact that the cops that had managed to get into the mall had become crazed and he had put one of them down personally. A friend of his fathers, who he had shot in the Food Court after he had killed two of the other survivors. This tragedy was taking its toll on the already shattered 16 year old.

"You okay?"

Owl looked at the man with the camera.

"Fine…"

The man sat down beside him on the bench and looked at the pistol in Owl's hands.

"Where did you get that?"

Owl shrugged and slipped the pistol into his messenger bag.

"I'm Frank. Frank West."

"Owl… Just Owl."

Frank smiled and held his camera up, taking a quick picture of Owl.

"Nice to meet you Owl. I'm gonna head into the mall for a while, but you want to chat when I get back?"

Owl shrugged and looked at the air vent.

"I'll head out in a bit… Hopefully I can get a damn charger for my music player."

Frank nodded and headed for the air vent. Owl shifted in his spot and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and letting out a heavy breath.

Hopefully this nap wouldn't be as bad as his last nap.

Owl shot up, sweat running down his forehead. He ran his hand over his face, pushing his glasses up into his hair. Owl grabbed his bag and got up, moving towards the air vent. He needed to get something to keep him awake, because there was no way that he was surviving these next few days with sleeping. Once on the other side of the vent, Owl moved into the warehouse, slipping off of the shelves and heading into the Paradise Plaza. He rushed for Jill's and slipped over the counter, dodging all of the zombies in his path. He smiled as he found what he was looking for. A can of Coke rested on the counter and nothing would make him happier than getting the sugary beverage, with all of its caffeine inside his system. He smiled as the lukewarm beverage ran down his throat. The zombies had started to enter the restaurant and Owl pulled the Berretta out of his bag, firing three shots at the zombies. At his current range, around 10 meters, he hit all of them in the head, causing the undead to flop to the ground.

"What is going on in here?"

Owl looked at the entrance to the restaurant, frowning at the man standing in the doorway.

"What do you want, James?"

The other teenager smirked and spun his baseball bat a few times, before smashing a zombies face in with the weapon.

"While, if you must ask, for you to admit that I'm going to survive longer then you."

Owl sighed and looked at his father's pistol.

"Where is your family?"

James smirked and glared at Owl.

"If you must know, my father is off leading his group to find the impure."

Owl sighed and felt a pang inside of him. He could put an end to this thorn in his side. All he had to do was lift the pistol and shot one bullet into the annoying teenager's face. Problem solved. But if he murdered that idiot, then everything would be caught on video. He'd be known for murdering the other teenager. He had to play things smart for now. Wait for the perfect chance to murder the other teen. Hopefully kill the bastards father as well. Then anyone who had a connection to Owl would be gone. He could slip away into the shadows, knowing his brother and sister wouldn't try and find him. Because if their parents had died here, then he definitely must have died, at least, that is what his siblings would believe.

"So, where are you holed up?"

Owl frowned at James. He hated James' and his father. The man was insane. Owl had managed to avoid James for the most part, due to school being a few hours away from the mountain town.

"I found some people and we're going around and trying to find some supplies."

James nodded and spun his bat, slamming it into a zombie's face that was approaching behind him.

"While, I'll leave you be for now. Let's meet up later."

Owl ignored James, who swung and bashed some zombies as he walked off. Owl stood up and lifted his pistol. He moved out of the sandwich shop and headed for the gun shop. There had to be something useful there.

Owl pushed open the door to the outside and rushed past the zombies, smiling as he slipped against a tree, just out of the sight of a hummer, with three convicts riding it. They had a heavy machinegun, and there was no way that Owl was going to take them on with just his pistol. He slide down the tree, into a crouching position and got ready to sprint across the clearing, once the convicts were not looking. He took off and smirked as he slide into a bush out of their line of sight. He rose and moved towards the North Plaza. He just had to reach the gun shop, and hopefully grab some ammo for his Berretta, and maybe something that would suit his style a bit more. The teen slipped through the door and frowned at the pack of zombies before him. He reached into his bad and pulled out a knife, which he had taken from his bedroom. He moved towards the zombies, and dodged to the right as one lunged at him, swinging his knife and stabbing into the monster's spine. He spun and kicked another zombie's leg, causing it to fall too its knees, before stabbing the knife into the undead creature's face. He looked at the three zombies moving towards him and frowned, taking aim with his pistol and unloading an entire magazine in their direction. He managed to hit two of the zombies in the head, and the last zombie took several to the chest, causing it to fall onto the ground. Owl moved swiftly and jumped into the air, slamming his feet down onto the zombie's head, causing it to explode from the impact.

Owl let out a breath and looked at the dead bodies around him. He slipped the knife back into his bag, after whipping it off. He moved towards the store, scanning over the lack of zombies around him. He stopped outside the shop and frowned at the man inside, who was taking pot shots at a survivor, who rested just outside the shop.

"Look, mister, if we're gonna fight these zombies we need guns!"

The owner shot his shotgun into the air.

"Stay back! I trust them damn zombies about as far as I can throw 'em, but I trust people even less!"

The survivor motioned for Owl to move into the store with him.

"Don't shoot! Let's talk this over."

"You can talk to my 12-gauge. Don't get no closer or I'll blow y'all to kingdom come."

"Wait."

Owl dove out of the store and around a corner as the store owner shot the survivor. Owl moved swiftly, taking a few swift shots at the man, slipping to the other side of the entrance. Owl frowned and checked his magazine, five shots left.

"I just want to get some ammo, you fuck!"

Owl dove out and fired a quick volley of shots, causing his hands to sting as he rolled behind one of the counters in the store. Owl reloaded his pistol quickly and blind-fired over the counter, hearing the man groan as the sound of bullet against flesh filled the air.

"YOU DAMN BASTARD! LEAVE ME BE!"

Owl rose and pointed his pistol at the owner's head, before adjusting his aim and firing into the man's leg, causing him to stumble and lean against the counter.

"STAND DOWN!"

Owl aimed at the shotgun in the owner's hand, firing a few bullets to knock it out of his hand. The owner rushed for the entrance, but a zombie slammed into him, pushing him down and taking a bite out of his stomach.

"HELP! HELP ME!"

Owl frowned and lifted his pistol, shooting the zombie in the head, before pointing his pistol at the gun shop owner.

"Sorry…"

He pulled the trigger and turned away. He moved over to the other side of the counter, scanning over everything in the shop. He looked around for a bag to carry the weapons. If he could get some of these to the security office, then he might be able to equip Frank and the other survivors with something that could allow them to be safer when they went out. He opened his bag and tossed it onto the counter, moving over and grabbing a bunch of 9mm ammo, and slipping it into his almost empty bag. He moved over to the racks and grabbed a Remington 870, and slipping the sling over his back, before grabbing the Remington off of the shelf, slipping that onto his back as well. He pushed a pile of shells and rounds into his bag. He grabbed a set of M1911s that he tossed into his bag, before rushing towards the Paradise Plaza. He slipped through Leisure Park, making sure to avoid the zombies and the convicts. Owl slipped into the Paradise Plaza and frowned at the more zombies that started to gather. All of Willamette must have been gathering inside of the mall, considering how many zombies were clumping together. Owl lifted his Berretta and fired swiftly, clearing a group of the zombies. He moved towards the storage room, frowning as he dodged the zombies in his way. He probably shouldn't have drawn their attention. Nothing good was going to come from this. He reached into his bag and tossed the small explosive that he had found when he was searching through his brother's room. He threw it, causing it to bounce off of the wall and land a few feet away from the entrance to the storage room, causing a small explosion, but a ton of noise, leading the zombies towards the now dead zombie, which was missing it's lower half.

"Where have you been?"

Owl looked at the woman, who was staring at him from the camera room. He pulled the shotgun off of his back and held it out to her.

"I thought that if I got some weapons, that it would help out with whatever you were working on. I don't know. Protect you in case you needed to clear a path through the zombies."

The woman moved over and took the weapon, placing it against the wall leading into the room.

"It will be there if it is needed by Brad or Frank… As for you, try and stay here. There is no point in putting yourself in danger. After all, you are so young."

Owl frowned at the woman and moved over to the bench. He had to get something to carry the sniper better. Maybe he could find a bag that would hold everything that he needed. He needed to try and figure out what he was going to do to get rid of his past. For one, James and his father had to go… That wouldn't be that challenging with the father being a cult leader, and the son being super into the cult. He would also need to make sure that any other survivors did not know who he was. Willamette was in no way small, so that wouldn't be that hard, considering how few people knew Owl before the outbreak.

"Hey, kid."

He looked up at the maintenance worker, who had his name across the front of his jumpsuit.

"Yeah?... Otis."

The man held out a walkie talkie and smiled.

"If you are going out, could you take this with you?"

Owl took the walkie talkie and slipped it into his bag.

"I'm probably only going to go on supply runs… Cause we might be holed up in here for a while. Might as well get some food and water."

Otis nodded and walked towards the camera room.

"I'll be watching the cameras. I'll call you or Frank if there is something that I notice and you are close to it."

Owl got up and walked towards the air vent. He might as well go grab some food and other things for the others. This could also allow him to move around the mall freely, without having to worry about anyone. He slipped into the vent and moved into the Paradise Plaza, gripping his pistol tightly. The zombies hadn't noticed him, and were stumbling around. Owl shifted his weight, moving towards the sports store, slipping in and moving around, looking for a duffle bag, which he found after a minute of searching. He grabbed it and ripped the tag off of it, before swinging it onto his back.

"_Are you there, Kid?"_

Owl pulled the walkie talkie out of his bag and pressed down on the button.

"Yeah?"

_"There is something going on in the Entrance Plaza, could you go investigate?"_

Owl let out a sigh and looked at the doorway, which had a bunch of zombies walking into the room. Nothing good would come from this. He moved quietly and grabbed a golf club as he moved, slamming it into one of the approaching zombie's faces. Owl spun and slammed the club into another zombie's heads. This was going to take forever if he fought his way there.

Owl shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet and rushed past the zombies, sidestepping them, and rushing towards the Entrance Plaza. As he moved into the other plaza he noticed the lack of zombies. Something was wrong here. He turned and frowned as there was a shimmer from the second floor.

"snipers."

He dove and slipped behind one of the signs. Several bullets hit the sign and Owl lowered his head, getting into fetal position. Owl spun his Remington and leaned out, looking down the scope and firing a few shots back at the snipers. He missed most of his shots, and slipped to another bit of cover.

_"You okay, kid?"_

Owl frowned and slipped out the walkie talkie.

"Yeah… There are a few snipers firing at me… I doubt I'll hit them at this distance… They are on the upper level, about 200 meters away."

Owl peaked out and moved back into cover.

_"I'm sending Frank to help you! Just hold out for now."_

Owl sucked in a breath and pulled his pistol, aiming it at the snipers, firing as he moved towards a store. He slipped behind a counter, which had shoes on top of it. He heard the firing stop and looked up, to watch a bunch of zombies getting shot in the face. He ducked and checked the Remington 700, reloading the rifle and pulling out a bunch of rifle ammo.

"I think that this should hold me for a while."

He reloaded his Berretta, and cocked it.

"Just like dad taught me… Let the bullets fly where you want them to."

Owl rushed out of the store and fired at the snipers, before slipping into another store. He lifted the rifle and pressed against the corner, leaning down and looking through the scope, and focusing on where the snipers rested. Two men, leaning over a younger man, who looked to be only 20 and had a bullet wound in his throat.

Owl frowned and fired another shot, hitting the shoulder of the man. He frowned and hid behind the corner again.

"DAD!"

Frank rushed over to his side and looked at him, holding a pistol in his hands.

"What is going on?"

Owl motioned to the second floor.

"Three snipers, I clipped one and managed to down one."

Frank nodded and leaned around the corner.

"Who is the last one?"

"Some guys. My guess is the family is a bit too much into hunting."

Frank nodded and looked out again.

"We should move in and see if we can talk him down."

Owl nodded and motioned towards the stairs. Rushing up them, he moved towards the teenager, aiming his pistol at the man.

"Stand down!"

The man looked up focusing on Frank. He grabbed his rifle off the ground and lifted it to shoot at Frank. Owl frowned and fired four quick shots, starting to rush at the man. One bullet missed and slammed by the man's foot, two slammed into the side of the rifle, shattering the barrel, while the last slammed into the side of the man's skull, causing brain matter and blood to fly through the air. Frank looked shocked as Owl stopped moving, and lowered his pistol.

"He was going to shoot you… I wasn't going to let him kill you."

Frank nodded and looked at the three bodies. Owl moved over and pushed the bodies over with his foot. He vaguely remembered the three as a hunting family that were always a bit too into hunting. Owl moved and scanned over the surroundings.

"I'm going to get back to the security office… I might go gather some supplies before I head back, seeing as we might be here for a long time."

Owl moved towards the food court, pulling out his walkie talkie.

"Otis, I'm going to gather some canned goods and water from the food court. I'll be heading back after that."

_"Got it, Kid."_

Owl reached the food court and moved into the back of several of the stores, grabbing a bunch of cans and slipping them into the duffle bag, before moving to the fridges to grab water. He dumped a bunch of the water bottles into the bag and pulled it onto his back. He scanned around him, looking at the zombies moving towards him. He pulled his pistol and aimed down the sights at the zombies, firing at their heads.

"Might as well work on my aim."

A few of his shots slammed into the zombies heads, and he slowly moved towards the Paradise Plaza. He reloaded the pistol and ignored most of the zombies. He slipped past them, and focused on getting back to the security office. He frowned as he crawled into the security room, and was greeted by three strangers, who were all wandering around the various rooms.

"Hi, I'm Sophie Richards, I noticed that you were out there when those convicts were driving around, and was wondering why you would do something so stupid?"

Owl frowned and looked at one of the side rooms.

"I needed to get to the gun store, and that was the fastest path. It would have been just as dangerous to go around, if not more dangerous, considering there are so many zombies."

The woman, Sophie, glared at Owl, who was moving towards the side room. He pushed open the door and moved towards the back shelf. He placed the duffle bag down and started to unpack the cans of food and the water bottles. If he could keep a steady supply of food and water on the shelf, it didn't matter what was going on, as long as the people in the security office had everything they needed to survive. It also gave him a reason to be roaming around the mall without bring to much suspicion to his movements.

"You stocking some food for us, Kid?"

Owl looked at Otis and nodded.

"I have no idea how long we are going to be here, but we are going to need food and water. There is no point in me staying around here if I can help out."

Otis nodded and looked at the small pile of cans and water bottles.

"That probably won't be enough for the number of people we might get here. Seeing as Frank is out there getting all of the survivors that he can back here."

Owl nodded and stood up, slipping the bag back onto his back.

"I'll head over to the food court and gather some more, seeing as the Seon's has always been a bit wacky… I'd personally like to avoid going to that place until it's absolutely required of me."

Otis nodded and Owl moved towards the air vent.

"You might get some crap from the survivors for going out and risking your life, seeing as you are so young."

Owl shrugged as he opened the vent and slipped into it.

"Call me if there is anything that is you need. I'll be getting more food and water."

Owl slipped through the vent and moved towards the food court. He knew that if he was going to move around freely, he was going to need and excuse to be in the areas that he was required to go, because the others would probably have him just heading back and forth from the food court, gathering water and canned goods.

"Hey!"

Owl turned and noticed Frank, who was moving with a man and a woman towards the employee store room.

"Where are you heading, Owl?"

Owl looked towards the Food Court.

"I was going to get more canned goods and water for the security office… Then I might go and gather some batteries and maybe some CDs for my music player."

Frank nodded and looked at the survivors.

"How about we meet up in the Wonderland Plaza after you get the canned goods, and I could help you carry some extra cans and water bottles back to the office."

Owl nodded and pointed to the sports store.

"There are some duffle bags in there that you can grab. We can grab more supplies on the way back from the CD store."

Frank nodded and Owl continued on his way to the Food Court. He moved towards the back and started to pack the canned goods into his duffle bag, when he heard a noise behind him. He spun and aimed his pistol, scanning over everything behind him, when his eyes fell upon a single figure, who was staring at him.

"I see you are still alive… Why are you gathering so many cans? Feeding an army?"

Owl glared at the other teen.

"If you must know, James, I'm gather some supplies for the other survivors, because unlike you and your father, I actually care about other survivors."

James shrugged and looked around.

"If you must know, I am here looking for someone."

Owl felt a chill in his bones as the other teen's words.

"Whatever, just leave me out of this."

James smirked and lifted a shotgun.

"While, the problem is, I'm looking for you."

Owl frowned and moved swiftly, pulling his pistol and pointing it at James. He glared at James, who just smirked.

"Which do you think is faster? You're reaction, or my action?"

James moved his hand and Owl acted quickly, pulling the knife from his bag out and throwing it at the other teen, shifting his weight and rolling out of the way of the shotgun blast, which slammed into the spot he had just been resting. The knife hit James in the arm, causing the teen to loosen his grip on the shotgun. Owl took this chance to aim his pistol, and fire three swift shots into James' arm, causing the weapon to fall to the ground.

"You bastard!"

Owl moved forwards, forcing James to the ground and pressing his pistol to James' head.

"Are you going to leave me be, or should I finish you off right here?"

James glared at Owl, and looked at the doorway.

"TRUE EYE!"

Several men in rain coats entered the food court, and Owl leaned back a bit, firing most of his magazine at the men rushing towards him. He slammed the butt of his gun into James' face, shattering the teen's nose, and knocking the teen out. Owl then grabbed the shotgun, pointing it at the men and firing all of the shells at the remaining men. His hands burned and his shoulder was killing him, but he needed to get away from these insane bastards.

_"What is going on, kid?"_

Owl shifted his weight, tossing the shotgun behind the counter of one of the restaurants, causing it to land next to his duffle bag, which was full of canned goods. He pulled one of the M1911s from his messenger bag and fired at the last two cult members. He managed to take one down, while the other continued moving towards him.

"SHIT!"

Owl fell onto his back and the man swung his dagger down towards the fallen teen. Owl moved his hands and stopped the weapon from hitting his chest, and wrestled for control with the man.

"KID!"

A gunshot was heard and the cult member flopped onto Owl, the side of his head blown open.

"Are you okay?"

Owl pushed the body off of him and looked at his savior.

"Thanks… Sir."

The man from the Entrance Plaza and Security Office rushed towards Owl.

"It's Brad."

Owl took the extended hand and got up. His entire body was sore from firing the guns throughout the day. He needed to just go back and rest for a long while.

"Owl… Thanks for saving me."

Brad nodded and looked at the bodies around the teen.

"What did they want with you?"

Owl shrugged and looked for James, who was currently missing.

"The leader is a bit crazy, and the son was here a bit ago… It might have to do with my father constantly arresting him for all of the crazy things that he's done around town… But who knows, he never really did anything that made any sense."

Brad nodded and Owl pulled his walkie talkie out.

"Frank, Otis, I'm just gonna bring these supplies back to the office. I'm a bit tired after running around so much today. So I'm just going to get some sleep. I'll do more supply runs in the morning."

Owl slipped the backup pistol into his bag, and moved to grab the duffle bag behind the counter.

"Want me to walk back with you?"

Owl turned to Brad and nodded.

"I need to practice more with shooting… My shoulder and hands are killing me."

Brad nodded and after the teen had grabbed the shotgun and duffle bag, they started their walk back towards the security office. Owl reloaded the shotgun as they walked and held it out for Brad to take.

"Why are you carrying so many shells and bullets? Why carry so many weapons?"

Owl shrugged and focused on reloading his pistol, while Brad cleared the zombies that were getting too close.

"If I can help out, whether that be through keeping everyone supplied with weapons, or gathering food and water for the people in the security room. I have nothing left to lose, so there is no point in me sitting around the office with the others. They probably have lives outside of this city, while I have nothing. So if I can help them, then I might as well go through the motions."

Brad nodded and the pair entered the storage room, heading for the elevator.

"So, I'm going to assume you are going to be doing supply runs when you wake up… Try and get some blankets and maybe some sleeping bags. I don't know how many people are out there, but if you want to help, I'd focus on keeping enough food to last three days. A helicopter is coming in three days to get Frank and the rest of us."

Owl nodded and crawled through the vent, once in the security office he moved to store the cans and water.

"Kid, how are you holding up?"

Owl looked at Otis, and shrugged.

"I need to figure out what the hell that damn cult wants with me… Is it cool if I use one of the lockers to keep some of my personal stuff in? Mainly just a spare change of clothes, maybe my messenger bag, and a spare gun."

Otis nodded and moved over to the lockers under the stairs.

"You can use this one. You can have the key, and if you see any of the security guards out there, you should get their locker keys, cause I don't have half of them, and there might be something useful in them."

Owl nodded and Otis handed him the key to the locker, before walking off.

"Thanks, Otis."

He opened the locker and hung his rifle up on one side, and his messenger bag on the other side. He then moved with the duffle bag to the room he had stored the other cans and water. The random survivors that were around the security office.

"Kid, what were you doing out there alone?"

Owl looked at the man that was talking to him. He had a shotgun in his hands and focused on Owl.

"I was gathering supplies… I don't really have any family left alive, so I might as well go out there and help keep everyone here comfortable."

The man nodded and looked at the air vent.

"I might start doing supply runs as well… Where do you normally go to get the food and water?"

Owl stood up and brushed his knees off.

"While, I get them from the food court, but you should get a duffle bag from the sports store in Paradise Plaza. I'd fill it up and just go and get as many cans and water bottles as you can."

The man nodded and moved towards one of the other rooms.

"Thanks, kid."

Owl nodded and went to the bench, where he sat down and leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He needed to try and find James and the cult members tomorrow. But first he had to get some practice in with the weapons.


	2. Day 2

DAY 2

A/N: This is part of a series where Owl is meant to not influence the pace and events of the games too much. So I'm trying to keep Owl away from all of the Story missions, and if he is part of them, then he is normally not really helpful. The point of these stories is not to change the games with a Mary Sue character, but to try and display a character who trying to survive, through any means necessary.

Sorry DesertStorm38, Adam's event was cut out from this story, because I didn't want Owl to influence all of the Psychopath battles. As I write this I kind of feel stupid because I actually have him involved with most of the side psycho battles… Whatever, I feel like with everything going on through the game, Frank wouldn't be able to deal with all of the psychopaths, so if other characters are dealing with them, it would make more sense from a time perspective.

I think there are 14 psychopath battles, I'm counting main story, Paul, and the Convicts, and Owl is going to interact with 4 of them through the entire story. Hatchet Man (Don't know why it is called that), Sniper, The Gun Shop, and A Strange Group. At least that is all I'm planning for. And I feel like that many is pushing it.

Owl stretched a bit and looked around. Several other people had arrived since he had gone to sleep, and his hands felt a bit better. He moved to the locker where his bag was, and gathered his things. He looked at the clock on the wall and frowned. He had managed to get a few hours of sleep, and it was about 8 and there was quite a bit of movement. Owl grabbed his things and started to move. He noticed Otis and moved over to the old man.

"What is going on?"

Otis looked at him and frowned.

"Brad got hurt in a shootout with some stranger, and we need medical supplies to help him."

Owl nodded and thought of the possible places that could have a first aid kit. He nodded and looked moved towards the air vent. He pulled his walkie talkie and crawled into the vent.

"Frank, there might be first aid kit in Seon's Grocery Store. I have to look into something that has been bothering me. I'll meet you at Seon's in a bit."

_"Okay, I'm already in the North Plaza, so I'll just head there. See you there."_

Owl moved into the Paradise Plaza, spinning his pistol out and scanning over the zombies around the area. They were starting to grow in number, meaning that there was clearly a lot of activity in the mall. He moved towards the movie theater. He had a feeling that something interesting might be going on there, seeing as there was a lack of zombies near the entrance. He moved in and looked into the random theaters. Most of them had almost all of the seats moved away. He stopped at the last theater and glared at the figures in the last theater.

"So, you are here, James."

The teenage cult member turned to Owl and frowned.

"What does it mean to you? Such an impure weakling like you!"

Owl rolled his eyes and focused on the cult members, lifting his pistol and shacking it slightly. All of the rain coat bearing men stepped back, while James pointed his sword at Owl.

"What? I don't expect you to hit me after your performance in the Food Court!"

Owl shrugged and reached into his bag, gripping one of the throwing knives that he usual carried with him. He pointed the Berretta at James and turned his body to the side slightly.

"I just want to warn you, that if you fuck with me again. I'm going to put an end to you and your father. Then I'm going to hunt down and kill every single member of this damn cult and put a bullet in their skulls."

Owl's eyes narrowed and James let out a laugh.

"Your threats mean nothing to me. If you killed me, my father would take you and every single one of your group's heads! I don't care what you think, you're a terrible shot, and I doubt you could hit me at point blank range. Now fuck off before I actually have to kill you. You aren't needed currently, so I suggest you don't die until your needed for the ceremony."

Owl spun and walked out of the movie theater. There was no point in attacking them yet. Once they planned on attacking him, he could kill James and James' father. The only thing attacking them now would accomplish would be pointing blame for the fallout at him, instead of the cult. Owl moved past the zombies, and when one got too close, he would kick its leg out and step around it. He needed to go help Frank with Seon's seeing as the store manager was always a bit wacky. He grabbed a skateboard from the sports store and took off through the park, zipping past the zombies and the convicts were distracted by a bunch of zombies that were starting to group around the hummer. Owl reached the North Plaza entrance and swung through the door. He pulled his walkie talkie out and rushed towards the Grocery store.

"Frank, you okay?"

_"The manager was completely insane, but I'm okay. How close are you?"_

Owl entered the store and looked around. The store was full of supplies, which could be brought back to the security office and keep the group going until the chopper arrived. Owl moved over towards the back room, and Frank walked out, holding a first aid kit.

"I'm going to run this back to the security office for Brad. Thanks for the suggestion."

Owl nodded and looked around the store, before pulling out his walkie talkie.

"Otis, could you tell the people willing to do supply runs to come to Seon's. There are a lot of supplies here in terms of food and water. More than enough to keep us going for at least a week."

_"Okay, some men will be heading over there, after they get back from the food court."_

Owl slipped his walkie talkie away and looked at Frank, who was focusing on the teen and the blood that covered part of his dress shirt.

"You might want to change, kid."

Owl shrugged and looked at all of the supplies, finally noticing the shopping cart.

"Could you take some supplies back in the shopping cart? I'm gonna gather some cans and water, then head over to the CD store in the Wonderland Plaza."

Frank pushed the cart upright and looked around the store.

"Could you help me load this thing? Not exactly sure what we need more of."

The teen moved with Frank through the store, loading as many cans and water bottles into the cart, before Frank rushed off towards the security office. Owl moved around the store, loading his bag full of several different types of canned goods. He moved towards the pharmacy and looked over all of the different prescriptions, before stopping at a four different bottles that were on one end. He scanned over the name on the bottle and frowned, taking the bottle of Zyprexa and throwing it in the trash. He looked at the other three bottles and frowned, tossing all of them in the trash. He needed to focus on what was to come, not the past.

"You here, kid?"

Owl moved out into the store and smiled at the three men that were standing in the store with duffle bags over their backs.

"This place is amazing!"

The teen nodded and looked around the store. There was no way that they would last on what was in the food court, at least judging, from the growth of their group in the last day alone.

"Greg, cover the entrance while me and Burt fill the bags. You gonna head back with us, kid? Or are you going to go on another side quest?"

Owl shrugged and reached into his messenger bag, pulling out two spare pistols.

"You guys might want these. I'm going to go to the CD store on my way back. You might want to go to the Gun shop. Last time I checked, it was full of guns."

Owl moved out of the store, heading for the Wonderland Plaza. Hopefully the store had gotten a new set of CDs before the outbreak had started, which would be nice for the teen, once he was back in the security office, sitting at the bench that he considered his bed. Several zombies were moving towards Owl, and he frowned, taking aim with his pistol and firing at them. He managed to take them out with a few bullets. He moved onto the second floor and walked into the CD store, smiling at the selection. He'd ditched his entire collection heading to the store, and was hoping that he could find several of them in the stores around the mall, but with the large selection that he had acquired over the years, he doubted that he was going to be able to make up for the loss of several of the original CDs that had been made by his friends at school, or his older brother for his birthday.

"I wonder if they have any 80s mixes."

Owl moved through the selections and smiled as he found a "Best of the 80s" CD. He looked at the door, and frowned at the zombies stumbling past. He moved around the end of the shelf and slipped over the counter, digging behind the counter for a pair of headphones, and batteries.

_"How are you doing, kid?"_

Owl spun out his walkie talkie, and placed his CD player on the ground before him.

"Fine. I'm just getting some CDs and batteries, then I'm heading back to drop off the supplies I have, then I'll go after blankets. Is there something going on, Otis?"

Owl looked over the counter and scanned over the zombies stumbling past the store.

_"Not really, just that there is a lot of movement in the North Plaza. If you get the chance, how about you go investigate it."_

Owl finished messing with his CD player and slipped it into his bag.

"Okay, I'm heading there now."

Owl put his walkie talkie away and moved towards the North Plaza. This could be his chance to kill James and several of the cult members. He needed to just stay calm and focus. Maybe use his throwing knives, seeing as he had terrible aim with a gun. Owl looked over at the three men, who were walking out of Seon's.

"Where are you going?"

"Otis called me and said there was something going on around here, so I'm going to investigate. Would you mind taking these supplies back?"

Owl held out his duffle bag, and one of the men took it.

"I'll go with you kid, Aaron and Burt will take the supplies back."

Owl nodded at the Patrol agent, who passed his duffle bag onto one of the other men. After the exchange, Owl and Greg went towards Crislip's Saloon, while Aaron and Burt headed towards Wonderland Plaza.

"Did Otis tell you what type of thing was going on?"

"No, I just know that there is something going on here, and it's better to look into it, seeing as it might have to do with that wacky cult that is hanging around here."

Greg nodded and took out several of the zombies that were in the way with a metal pole.

"So, we could potentially find nothing, cause there isn't anything here?"

Owl shrugged and the pair stopped outside the Saloon.

"If it's nothing, that is better than ignoring something that is potentially really dangerous."

The pair moved entered the Saloon, scanning over all of the dead zombies hanging from the roof. Owl frowned and put his hand on his bag, grabbing one of his throwing knives. He had to focus on his surroundings.

"Something isn't right…"

Greg nodded and scanned the area with his pistol. A large man, who wore a ripped flannel shirt, jeans, and a fisher's hat, walked out, carrying a machete. He moved towards them, gripping his weapon tightly, with his gloved hand.

"Name and rank Soldier!"

Owl turned towards him and frowned. Greg gave Owl and look and kept his pistol aimed at the man.

"You cannot tell me, can you, fella? Oh yeah... I know why... It's because you're Viet Cong! I'm right, aren't I? You are nothin' but a filthy communist!"

Owl frowned as the man rushed at them, dodging Greg's shot and swinging his machete at the man, Owl spun and hit Greg's stomach, pushing the man back, out of the range of the attack. Owl pulled his pistol and frowned to see the man missing.

"You son, are gonna to tell me where the gorilla's hideout is..."

"Where is he?"

Owl frowned and scanned around, looking for the man. He needed to find this guy.

"By the time I'm done beatin' information outta you, you are gonna be beggin' for death to come take you away!"

Owl looked around, noticing a flash of red along one of the shelves. He fired a few rounds at the man flash of color, frowning as they blew some of the boxes open. Greg moved forwards, looking around the store. Owl pulled his walkie talkie out, while scanning over store.

"Otis, we might need a bit of help… There is a man here, who believes that we are Viet Cong…"

_"Kid, get out of there! We'll send someone to deal with it. Just try and escape."_

Owl turned and fired his pistol at the man, who was rushing at him. There was blood in the man's eyes, and Owl slipped back, dodging the attack, but his walkie talkie was caught in the swing. The plastic device shattered and Owl landed on his back. The man swung down with the weapon, but Owl moved his legs swiftly, knocking the man in the side, causing him to miss the attack. Owl aimed his pistol and fired , but the man grabbed his hand and forced the pistol to face the roof.

"You're not killing me, you damn Commie."

Owl frowned and kicked the man in the chest, hoping it would push him back.

"KID!"

Greg fired his pistol at the pair, missing most of his shots, and clipping the man's shoulder. The man threw his machete, which stabbed Greg in the chest, causing him to flop onto the ground. Owl's eyes widened and he slammed both of his feet into the man at full force, causing him to stumble back, releasing his grip on the teen's wrist. Owl got up and sprinted over to Greg, staring at the other survivor. The psychopath moved towards him and the body and Owl moved swiftly, pulling out a few of his throwing knives and launching them at the attacker. They slammed into the man's body, and he slowed down, moving towards the teen.

"Still got a bit of fight left in you."

Owl frowned and grabbed the closest thing to him, a small axe that sat beside him on one of the shelves. He spun and slammed it into the man's chest, causing the large man to fall to the ground.

"You... over there... Here... take this."

Owl frowned as the man held out his wallet. A kill trophy. He moved over to the man and frowned down at him, looking at the picture of the happy family, which was slightly obscured by blood.

"My granddaughter... She was done in by those damn zombies. When I heard her scream... I just lost it. Everything went white suddenly. The war... It wasn't over... Not for me... It... it never... ended..."

Owl frowned and looked at the man, who was bleeding out onto the concrete ground. Frank rushed through the door, frowning at the teen and the two bodies around him. Owl looked at Frank, then back at the war veteran's body. He closed the eyes of the man and grabbed his throwing knives, pulling them out of the man's body, causing Frank to cringe. Owl whipped the blood soaked knives off on his pants leg and rose, looking at Frank.

"What happened here?"

Owl looked at the dead veteran and frowned.

"He attacked us… He snapped when his granddaughter died… He had me pinned, and Greg tried to help… But he killed him, and I managed to get in a few good hits…"

Owl pulled the axe free and tossed it to the side.

"I need some time alone…"

Frank nodded and watched as Owl walked off into the mall. The teen reloaded his pistol and walked around for a bit, before finally stopping and resting at Ripper's Blades.

Owl stared at one of his throwing knives, thinking back to when he had gotten the blades. He had only been practicing with them for a year. He had been annoyed when his parents had taken them away a few months back and that left him without anything to do, other than hang around the mall when he was in town. He reached into his bag to find his walkie talkie, to see if Otis needed anything. Aaron and Burt had stopped doing supply runs a few hours ago, and he had gotten two keys off of dead security guards. He had been using the passing zombies as practice with the random knives stored in the display, and he had stopped a bit ago, out of sheer boredom. He had finally gotten a chance to sit down and reflect on what he was going to do after he got out of this hell hole. He needed to at least gather some money for whatever he was planning on doing. He spun the blade in his hand a few more times and frowned at the former virgin steel, which now had a slight red tint from the man's blood. Cliff Hudson… At least, that is what the credit cards said from the wallet.

"Kid?"

Owl looked up and frowned at Frank, who stood in the doorway. Owl motioned for him to enter and Frank moved over to the counter and sat down, smiling at him.

"While, you've been missing for an hour and a half, so I thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing."

The teen shrugged and looked at the knife again. Frank sighed and pulled out a walkie talkie and held it out to him.

"Otis found a spare, seeing as yours was destroyed by the War Vet."

Owl ignored the item and looked at the wallet besides him. Frank sighed and put the walkie talkie down beside the teenager.

"I have to find a girl, but if I call, could you answer?"

Owl nodded and Frank walked out of the store. Owl looked at the yellow device and frowned at it. He needed to get back on track. He had killed before… Those bastards in the rain coats had been easy targets. Hell! He was trying to find a way to kill James and his Father. Why had he suddenly snapped out of character?

'That man was a warning of what you could become.'

Owl looked over and frowned at the figure standing in the door.

"What do you want, Tiger?"

The girl let out a laugh and walked into the store, scanning over the displays, stopping at the katana display.

'While, I clearly need to snap you out of this slump.'

Owl frowned as the girl ran her hand across one of the blades, smirking at the weapon.

"If you really want to get rid of your past. Then take this and stab that bastard that is at the movie theater!"

Owl frowned and slide off of the counter, walking over to the display, taking the katana and swinging it a few times through the air.

'Then, I want you to pocket some small items along the way. You are going to need to find some way to get new IDs and other information. Remember that man that your father failed to catch a few years ago? You know he lives in Still Creek. Go to him and he should be able to hook you up with everything you need.'

"Okay, but what then?"

'Who cares? You;ll be free!'

The girl spun on her heel and walked out of the store, waving goodbye to Owl.

'I;ll see you around love'

Owl slipped the katana into its sheath and gathered his things off of the counter, before moving over to the cash register, taking a few of the bills out of it, before moving over to the display for throwing knives.

_"Frank, there is a bunch of those Cult members heading for the North Plaza! You have to go protect the kid!"_

Owl smirked and waved at the camera.

"Otis, I'll handle it."

_"There are 10 of them moving towards you. Are you sure?"_

Owl scanned over the throwing knives.

"I'm sure."

A group of the Cult members walked stopped outside the door and Owl smirked. James walked to the front of the group.

"You are finally needed."

Owl grinned and spun the knife in his hand.

"Are you sure you brought enough men?"

James smirked and waved for the Cult members to rush him. Owl threw the knives and hit several of his attackers, causing them to stumble. He pulled his pistol and fired at them, placing a single shot into the staggered members. James frowned and pulled his sword out. The remaining Cult members stepped back as their leader's son walked towards the other teen.

"You've done it now, you impure little shit."

Owl swung out the katana he had just picked up and pointed it at James.

"I wonder how well you can really sword fight? Cause we both know who is the killer here."

The pair rushed at each other and their blades clashed. They swung and blocked each other's attacks and Owl started to gain the upper hand. James frowned and slammed the handle of his sword into Owl's face, before spinning and slashing the teen across the face, causing blood to fly through the air. Owl stumbled back and closed his golden eye.

"You won't die here! You are needed for the ceremony."

Owl smirked and quickly threw a knife at the other teen. He flopped onto his face. He had played his cards, and now the bastards had caught him. If only he had told Otis to send help. Now he was going to get killed by the other teenager and his insane, cult leader, father. He was suddenly dropped onto his side.

"What about James?"

Owl smirked as he noticed James, who was dead on the ground next to him, the throwing knife sticking out of his face. One down, only one left.

"Leave him… Father Keanan will not be pleased, but he wanted this kid for the ceremony. He is the most impure of them all."

Owl felt the pair grab him and carry him off. Owl tried to open his left eye, but the blood was blocking his vision. So much blood. There was no way he was getting out of this. He would hopefully get out of here, but with the amount of blood dripping from him, there was no way he was going


	3. Day 3

Owl shot up, and looked around. He tried to open his left eye, but felt something covering it. He looked around and scanned over the security office. His eye stopped on Frank, who was leaning against the wall across from the bench.

"How are you holding up?"

Owl shrugged and looked around for his bag.

"What happened?"

Frank held up Owl's bag, tossing it to the teen.

"Those two cult members were bringing you to the movie theater when I stopped them. They had your wound exposed and it was attracting the zombies. I managed to get you and bring you to back here. Jessie patched you up, and then you just woke up."

Owl searched through his bag and smiled, pulling his pistol out and checking it over.

"Why exactly do those this Cult want you so much?"

Owl frowned and checked the magazine.

"The cult leader has a beef with my late father. He was constantly getting arrested by my old man. So he views me as a being of pure evil. I'm going to go and personally kill that bastard."

Owl rose and took his throwing knives and pistol, walking towards the air vent.

"You are in no shape to face off against those bastards. Stay here and I'll handle it."

"No! This isn't your fight, Frank!"

Owl moved towards the air vent and slipping his knives and pistol onto a small holster that he got from his bag. He continued his walk towards the vent and Franked stepped in his way.

"You are too hurt to go out there! I'm not letting you risk your life over something so trivial."

Owl pushed Frank out of his way and continued his quest towards the air vent. Frank let out a groan.

"If you are going out there, Aaron and Burt are going with you!"

Owl frowned, but nodded. He stopped at the realization that he still had the keys for the lockers. He turned and walked over to the lockers under the stairs and started to rummage through them. He smiled as the keys clicked into place. The locker opened and he picked up the Uzi and looked at Frank, who was walking towards the camera room. He slipped into the air vent, rushing through and made a mad dash for the theater. He stopped at the sight of the cult members outside the theater.

"He is the one we need!"

They moved towards Owl, who aimed his pistol at them.

"Back off! I'm here to talk to your leader."

The members exchanged a look, before rushing at him. He fired his pistol, taking out the group. He smirked and moved into the theater.

"Mr. Keanan! I'm here you FUCK!"

Owl entered theater 4 and smirked as the crazed man looked at him.

"You have finally arrived, the corrupted one."

Owl rolled his eye and holstered his pistol, spinning one of his knives out.

"You know, James was pretty pathetic. He scratched me, so I put a knife in his skull."

Sean glared at him, and pointed his sword at Owl.

"How could something so Corrupt and Impure like you even lay a finger on James?"

Owl smirked and spun the knife around his hand, before getting ready to throw it.

"While, if I can't lay a finger on him, then where is he?"

Sean frowned and his eyes narrowed. Owl threw the knife, causing the man to react, deflecting it off of the edge of his sword. Owl spun out more throwing knives, and continued the assault on the old man, who rushed towards the teen. Once Sean was close enough, Owl pulled his pistol, pressing it to Sean's head.

"Bang."

He smirked as the bullet exploded the cult leader's brains out of the back of his head. He moved over the body and fired a few swift shots into the man's chest. Owl looked around the theater, looking at the people scattered around the room. There were several survivors scattered around in the few remaining chairs. Owl moved over to them and pulled out his last throwing knife, cutting them free. He looked up and noticed the cult members staring in from the door, all praying and drawing their weapons.

"Here."

He handed one of the survivors the Uzi and rushed to free the others. The cult members slowly started to storm the theater, and Owl lifted his pistol, shooting a three of them, before frowning at the empty magazine. He frowned and grabbed the sword from Sean's hands, rushing at the cult members, slashing several of them down, before moving out of the way of the man firing the Uzi at the crowd. He looked at the survivors and noticed the door to the side of the stage.

_"Where are you, kid?"_

Owl frowned and pulled his walkie talkie out.

"I'm just finishing up with the cult."

Owl reloaded his pistol and looked at the lock, frowning at it, and pulling his pistol out, aiming it at the lock. He fired and blasted the lock off of the door. Owl opened the door, smiling at the woman on the other side.

"Thank you!"

Owl smiled and walked towards the security office, all of the survivors following behind him. Once inside, Owl frowned at Frank, who was staring at him.

"You ignored my request."

Owl shrugged and motioned to the five survivors climbing out of the vents.

"I ignored your request to drag Aaron and Burt into this, because I didn't need their help! They didn't need to get involved in my personal affairs, and neither did you!"

Owl moved over to his bag and grabbed the bottle of pain killers out of his bag, taking a few pain killers.

"Where did you get those?"

Owl rolled his eye and started the remove his bandages. He felt the scab that ran over his left eye. It ran from about an inch and a half under his eye to an inch above his eye. That was going to scar, and that meant that there was always going to be something that could identify him. Frank pushed Owl around and glared at the teenager.

"Where did you get those?"

Owl held up the bottle and shook it.

"These belong to me. I had surgery a few weeks ago to remove my wisdom teeth."

Frank frowned at the name on the bottle.

"So your name isn't Owl? Why lie about it?"

Owl glared at Frank. Why did he have to explain himself to some random reporter that he had only met a few days earlier.

"Because! I don't want everyone to know who I am! The cult is after me because of what I have done in the past! There was no point in me continuing to be someone who was worthless!"

Frank looked at Owl, who tossed the pills into his bag.

"Does that mean that there are people out there who care about you? Family members who are waiting for someone to come out of here, and tell them what happened here?"

Owl frowned and shook his head.

"No, my family died here."

"And why should I believe you about that? You lied about your name!"

Owl tightened his fist and felt like he needed to punch him in the face.

"Because that cult leader killed them! That is why I killed him and his bastard of a son!"

Frank froze and looked at Owl, who had fire burning in his eyes.

"Frank, I need to get out and think about what I'm going to do after this…"

Frank nodded and let the teenager walk over to the vent with his bag. Once in the mall, Owl moved for the North Plaza. He frowned as the intercom blared to life and a Spanish sounding man. Owl ignored the comments, and focused on getting to the gun store. If he could get some ammo, he could work on his aim a bit, before finally getting out of the hell hole. He frowned as the zombies stumbled around. He entered the gun store, and scanned over the displays, which had a bunch of weapons missing. Owl took the pistol ammo out and started to load his spare magazines. He looked up and frowned at all of the zombies that were gathering outside. He needed to clear this place out, and soon. He lifted the gun and started to shoot at the zombies, reloading as quickly as he could, before unloading at the zombies again.

_"Kid? Can you come back here, one of the survivors is starting to doubt that the Helicopter is coming tomorrow, and I need you to convince him to stay."_

Owl frowned and his eyes narrowed. He spun his pistol and slipped it into its holster, before heading for the security office.

"I'm on the way, Otis."

Owl walked through the park and ignored the sounds of the convicts zipping around on the other side of the park. He needed to handle the mutiny, and the convicts were clearly having fun fighting with zombies. Once he entered the Paradise Plaza, and took of sprinting towards the security office. He needed to calm this event down, and that meant he had to convince whoever these idiots were that a chopper was going to arrive. Owl frowned as he remembered what his father had told him before he rushed to the mall.

"There are a bunch of National Guard blockades around the city…"

Owl burst out of the air vent and looked at Otis.

"Where are they?"

He pointed to one of the side rooms. Owl sighed and pushed the door open, looking at the man, who was wearing a suit, and held a shotgun.

"It's pointless to sit on our hands here waiting for a helicopter that may or may not even show up. We have enough people to do this. We should make a break for the main exit. They cannot stop us all!"

Owl frowned at the man. He was clearly snapping, and the people around the room were agreeing with him.

"Wait, so you are having a mental snap, and trying to rile these people up and go on a suicide mission?"

"You're the crazy one! You must believe in the tooth fairy if you think that helicopter's coming! Anyone who can buy into something like that with no proof is a fool!"

Owl rolled his eyes and put his hand on his forehead.

"And what is your '_Great'_ plan to get out of here?"

"We gather as many weapons as we can from inside the mall then we make a break for it in the daytime. Once we're out, we can hotwire us a few cars from the parking lot and hightail it out of here. We're not all gonna make it. I realize that, but that's just the price we have to pay."

Owl let out a heavy sigh, and looked up at the man.

"And what about the National Guard's barricades around the city? Because I doubt they won't shoot you and maybe one other person who gets out of the mall, and potentially gets a car hotwired?"

"What? The National Guard's involved?"

"Yeah, I remember when several of the officers that worked with my dad tried to evacuate people, they were gunned down. Unless you have a tank, you aren't getting out that way."

"Yeah… but…"

"Alright, how about this, you wait until after the helicopter is planned to arrive? If it doesn't show up, I'll follow you? You get to decide what we do next?"

"Noon tomorrow, huh? I will not wait any longer than that. Got it!"

Owl nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan."

"Everyone listen up! The plan's been altered! We'll delay it until noon tomorrow afternoon. Sorry for any confusion."

Owl moved out of the room, and gave Otis a thumbs up.

"I managed to convince him to delay his plan until after when the chopper is planned to show up… I hope that he doesn't do something that stupid. The National Guard is blocking every possible way out of the city, and there is no way for them to escape the city by car."

Otis nodded and looked at the door.

"You sure have a way with words."

Owl shrugged and looked behind him.

"More like me telling them the truth!"

Otis shrugged and Owl moved towards the vents.

"I'm going to gather some supplies for when I get out of here… I've got a long trip ahead of me."

Otis frowned and looked at Owl.

"Where are you headed? Cause if you are going to Los Perdidos, I can help you get there."

Owl smiled and looked at the man.

"I'm headed to Still Creek. I need to visit a family friend there before I'm heading elsewhere."

Otis nodded and moved aside, letting Owl to move into the vent. He climbed out and walked towards the sports shop. He could probably get something comfortable to wear and pack some things into a duffle bag. The cash would also be pretty good, seeing as the shop was one of the most popular among teenagers that lived in the city. He also needed to change out of the blood stained outfit and find someone who would rent him a place to stay at for a while.

Owl grabbed a pair of sweat pants and moved towards one of changing rooms. He slipped out of the dress shirt and cargo pants. He smiled at the comfortable hoodie, sweats, and a pair of sneakers. He tossed a few of the items into his bag, before taking the money from the register.

Next thing on his mental check list was to get a tent and sleeping bag. If he could gather these things, he would be able to travel without having to pay for a place to stay. The truth was, he might have to go months traveling across the country to avoid his sister and her boyfriend, who was a police officer in California, meaning that he would avoid that state for a few years, until he could hopefully deal with everything going on in his mind right now. His brother was more of a loose cannon, being in college and getting out in three years with a Degree in Psychology. He could potentially go get his PHD, or go out and search for answers for what was going on.

"Hey, kid."

Owl frowned and looked at Aaron and Burt, who were walking back to the security office with a cart full of blankets and pillows.

"What are you up to?"

Owl shrugged and looked at the pair.

"Getting ready for after this."

The pair nodded and looked at his bag.

"What do you need? Cause we might be able to help you out after we finish this run."

Owl shook his head.

"I just need to go and get a tent, a few camping supplies, and maybe some cash."

The pair of men nodded and Aaron pointed towards the Entrance Plaza.

"Sports High is a camping supply store, and you should be able to get a few things that you need from there."

"Thanks! I'll call Otis if I need your help."

Owl smiled and started to head towards the Entrance Plaza.

The plaza had cleared up a bit, and Owl slipped into the store, smiling at all of the camping supplies that he needed. He moved over to the tent section and got a small tent that would hold him and his things. He then moved over to the cooking stoves, two left in stock. He lifted it and slipped it into the duffle bag, which was just about full. He'd need to get another one. He looked around and noticed a hiking bag sitting on the shelf a bit further down from him. He grabbed it and started to repack some of the things from the duffle bag into the hiking pack. He slipped it onto his back and smiled as he moved towards over to the register, slipping a bit of the money into his pocket and heading towards the security office.

'Darling, aren;t you forgetting something?'

Owl frowned and turned to the girl, who stood in the middle of the plaza.

"What is it this time, Tiger?"

The girl lifted her hand, showing off a throwing knife.

'You might want to get some more throwing knives, seeing as you lost most of yours killing the last of your past.'

Owl shrugged and looked at the zombies stumbling past the girl. One of them almost bumped into her, but she moved around it, smiling at Owl.

'You could also get a survival knife, because you are probably going to need one at some point.'

"Tiger, why are you suddenly coming back and helping me? We both know you always wanted me to die."

The girl burst out laughing and looked at the other teenager, her eyes were the exact same as his. She stared into his eyes and looked around.

'We both know that I can;t survive without you. So I would rather you stay alive.'

As she spoke, she moved over and placed a finger on Owl's chest and slide it up his chest and slowly traced it up his chase up to his chin, placing the cold digit on his chin. She smirked and spun on her heel, walking towards the main entrance to the mall.

'I;ll see you around, Darling.'

Owl smirked and pointed his pistol that was moving towards his right side, pressing the weapon to its skull, pulling the trigger.

"See you around, Tiger."

He started his trek towards the North Plaza. He put his headphones on and started his CD player, scanning over the random stores that he passed. It was uncommon for him to get the chance to do this. Ever since the outbreak a few days earlier, he had noticed that he was no longer rushed. There was no point in him rushing someplace anymore. He didn't have to worry about everything that was going on. He could walk through the mall calmly, without worrying about seeing someone he knew.

"Is that you?"

He froze as he heard the masculine voice. How was that possible?… There was no way that he was here.

"It is you!"

He turned and frowned at the 19 year old rushing towards him. The blonde shouldn't be here. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be back at the college two hours away.

"I thought that you were at school again. I was just heading out of town when this outbreak hit."

Owl stared at the man smiling down at him.

"This isn't right… You shouldn't be here."

The man let out a laugh and swung his machete, beheading a zombie besides him.

"That is what I thought when I saw you! How long have you been in the mall? Cause I just got here. Outside is a mess, and the middle school was getting overrun."

Owl put a hand on his face. This wasn't part of the plan. Alex shouldn't be here. He was supposed to be at college. The man looked at Owl and frowned.

"You okay?"

Owl shook his head and looked at the hazel eyed man.

"Yeah…I just was heading to the knife shop in North Plaza."

"Ripper's Blades? I'll go with you. I met two guys earlier, I think it was Burt and something… Whatever, they said that there was a teenager with their group, and that there was a helicopter coming tomorrow. I didn't expect that teenager to be you."

The pair walked towards the North Plaza and Owl ran through every possible scenario in his head. He had to find a way to get rid of Alex before the helicopter arrived. The pair moved and Alex cleared the zombies that got too close to them, while Owl focused on his planning. Once at the North Plaza, Alex noticed James' body.

"James?"

He rushed over to the dead teenager, leaning down over the body.

"What happened to him?"

'This is your only chance.'

Owl looked at the girl who walked up beside him. She grabbed his arm and moved it to his pistol.

"Dude, do you know who did this to James?"

Owl lifted his pistol and pointed it at the back of Alex's head.

"I have no idea."

Alex looked at the knife, and pulled it out of James' face.

'Darling, finish this. Once he;s dead, we are free!'

Owl tried to lower his hand, but the girl forced it up. He glared at her, and she stared back into his eyes.

'We;ll be free once you kill him!'

"We need to find the bastard that did this, and kill that fucker! James was one of my best friends. I know your parents and his dad didn't exactly get along, but who could do this."

'We did'

Owl looked around and frowned as he realized that he was sitting in the security office. He felt his face, realizing there were new bandages over his eye.

"What the hell happened?"

He noticed Otis, who was sitting beside him on the bench at the base of the stairs.

"I don't know, but the Special Forces seem pretty set on keeping us here. They went in to talk to Jessie a while ago, and I hope she is okay."

Owl looked at his pistol, noticing the blood stain across the barrel and his hand. What was going on? He looked at the clock and frowned at the time. 11:40 PM. What had happened over the last few hours?

"When did I get back here, Otis?"

"About two hours ago, and you were just sitting here, listening to your music. I would have asked you if you were okay, but then your friend mentioned that you weren't on your meds."

Owl looked over and frowned at Alex, who was leaning against the wall. Once he noticed Owl looking at him, he gave a slight head nod.

"He said that you freaked out and mumbling to yourself while blasting your music."

Owl looked at his hands and frowned. He might not be in the best condition, but he needed to focus on the future… Seems like his brother and sister were going to find out he was alive. Alex would make sure of that.

"Can I talk to you on the roof?"

Owl looked at Alex and frowned. He nodded after a second and slipped his pistol into its holster, before walking with Alex to the roof, carrying his bag with him.

"Where are you going?"

Alex glared at the soldier and lifted a pack of cigarettes.

"I need a smoke."

The soldier nodded after a second and the pair stopped on the helipad. A military helicopter rested there and Owl stopped and looked at Alex.

"So, you are going by Owl now?"

Owl shrugged and looked at the sky.

"And I'm guessing you are the one who this in James' face?"

The teen looked at Alex and frowned at the man.

"After he attacked me and slashed my face with that sword."

Alex lite up a cigarette and took a long drag from it.

"I'm going to assume it has something to do with that cult I've been hearing about since I brought you back here. A few people mentioned that the Cult of the True Eye was trying to kill them, and you killed their leader and saved them."

"… James' dad was trying to capture me to sacrifice me, because I was 'corrupt'…"

Alex nodded and looked up.

"Why aren't you going by your real name?"

Owl looked at Alex and frowned.

"Because I was worthless before… As Owl I'm a survivor. I'm helpful… I don't want to go back to being weak and worthless… I doubt my brother and sister would understand everything this choice… They probably think I died here when they learn of what happened."

Alex nodded and took another drag from his cigarette.

"Plus this has clearly had a negative effect on you."

Owl glared at Alex with his grey eye.

"When have I ever been stable? This event put a ton of stress on my body, and I snapped again… I almost shot you, and I thought I did when I saw the blood on my pistol."

"I turned around and pushed your hand out of the way, and you started to talk to someone who wasn't there, about everything that you needed to get to ensure your future of freedom. You then started to blast your music and were going around the knife shop, throwing everything you could at the zombies that were in your line of sight. After a while you calmed down a bit, and I ended up having to carry you around to gather the last of the things you were rambling about, before I convinced you to take those stupid pills."

Alex lifted a bottle of pills. Owl frowned at his old name. He hated those things. They always made him feel dependent. At no point did he feel like he was in control of his life. Everything was always forced upon him.

"Thanks…"

Alex shrugged and looked at the helicopter.

"I should be thanking you. This was finally something to take my mind off of my older brother. He was supposed to be here, and I've been looking for him. Then I heard you insulted him and your sister, causing them to leave town."

Owl let out a laugh and looked at the helicopter.

"If it wasn't for me, they would be here! To think I ended up saving someone by being an asshole."

Alex shrugged and there was a commotion from the Security room.

"What is that?"

Suddenly Otis and a few of the survivors rushed through the door.

"Get in the Helicopter! We are getting out of here!"

The pair rushed into the helicopter and Otis took control, taking off and flying away from the city. Owl looked at the mall as they moved away. He wasn't going to be free after all… He looked over the other survivors. Of the group of 30 or 40 survivors, only 9 had gotten to the helicopter, including Owl and Alex.

"You should rest. I'll wake you up when we are clear of the city."

Owl looked at Alex and nodded after a second. He was hoping that he would wake up and not be trapped by his family again. He doubted that Alex would do something like that to him though.


	4. Epilogue

Owl climbed out of the car and smiled at Otis.

"Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime, kid. If you ever feel like visiting Los Perdidos, just look me up and give me a call."

He smiled and waved goodbye to the old man, who drove off down the road.

"Why stop here of all places? There is literally nobody that you would know living in someplace so small."

Owl rolled his eyes at Alex, who stood behind him.

"That is what you think, but I always tried to track down the people that my father had arrested in the past."

He walked towards the Hunting and Fishing shop. Alex followed behind him, and scanned over the small town. It was only a few blocks, and held next to nothing. It was a huge change from where they had just been only a few hours earlier. Owl stopped in the store and smiled at the man behind the counter.

"What can I help you with, kiddie?"

"Hi, Bob, you might not recognize me, but my father and you got into a bit of a scuffle a few months back in Willamette."

The man froze and looked at Alex, then at Owl.

"What do you want? Are you here to take me away?"

Owl shook his head and pulled out a bundle of cash.

"I was hoping to use your skills to fake IDs and Documents to create a new life for myself."

The man nodded after a second and took the cash.

"If you wouldn't mind following me to the hotel, I'll be more than happy to help make these documents for you."

Owl smiled and gave the cash to the Bob. He followed the man to the hotel and Alex looked at Owl.

"What are your plans after this?"

Owl shrugged and they entered the hotel, heading up to Bob's room, where the man pulled out a small briefcase and placed it on the desk.

"Now I'm going to need a birthday, name, and parent's name."

Owl looked at Alex.

"I'll meet you at the dinner. You probably shouldn't know these in case my siblings find out I'm alive."

Alex sighed and walked out of the hotel room. Owl looked at Bob and smiled.

"May 10th 1990 as my birthday, I'll be an Orphan, so put Willamette Orphanage down, and as for name, it will be Owl Tiger Aurum."

Bob nodded and started to work on the papers.

"What are you running from? Cause most of the Fake IDs I gave out were for people trying to change their age and get alcohol."

Owl sat down and looked at the ceiling.

"While, Willamette went through a slight calamity, and the world will never be the same once Frank West reveals what happened there. And after being so hated by my family, I might as well start a new life."

Bob nodded and motioned for Owl to move over to one of the walls.

"I need a picture for your IDs. I'll just assume you'll be driving."

"Issued September 14th. Any documents I should have to slip into a post office to put them on file?"

Bob shrugged.

"I bet they'll just assume someone fucked up during the process and that your files were just lost due to the orphanage fucking up."

Owl smiled and smiled for the picture. The picture flashed and he moved back to the chair by the window.

"Why are you traveling with Blondie if he is going to meet with your siblings after this?"

The teen smiled and looked at the girl who stood, leaning against the wall by the doorway.

"Because we both escaped the city, and I was coming to meet you and he's heading to LA."

Bob nodded and kept working on the IDs.

Alex drank a cup of coffee and looked out the window of the diner, smiling as Owl moved towards the diner. He had his hiking bag on his back, and held a file full of papers. He entered the diner and smiled at Alex as he sat down across from him.

"I'm done with everything. I just need you to drop me at the air strip a few miles away. I'm gonna take a plane to my next destination."

Alex sighed at the 16 year old, and took another drink of his coffee.

"Should I expect to see you around anytime soon?"

Owl shrugged and looked at the file.

"While, I wasn't planning on seeing Sis or Bro for a while… After all, I can't face them after what happened to mom and dad… They died in front of me, Alex."

The blonde sighed and looked at the roof.

"Fine, but they will drill me to find out what happened to you, and know that I'm not going to lie to them."

Owl frowned and the waitress walked over to the table.

"Can I get you something?"

"I'll have a glass of water and some pancakes."

He smiled and she walked off.

"So, how long will you hold off on telling them?"

Alex shrugged and looked out the window.

"Maybe a few months… But once that reporter brings things to light, then I'm going to have to be honest."


End file.
